# MongoDB Installation and Setup The different database models – SQL and NoSQL – vary a fair bit when it comes to configuration and usage. But open source software MongoDB proves that using a [NoSQL](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/nosql/ "NoSQL") solution doesn’t have to mean throwing away years of expertise collected about relational database systems. Admittedly, this **document-orientated database** with flexible data storage is quite a different idea to classics like MySQL, but there are many similarities too, which you can read about in our introduction to [MongoDB](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/mongodb-an-introduction-and-comparison-to-mysql/ "MongoDB: an introduction and comparison to MySQL"). Although the query language and command syntax of MongoDB require a bit of time for familiarization, SQL experts shouldn’t have many problems getting to grips with the differences. In the following MongoDB tutorial, we’ll take a closer look at the installation, configuration, and management of this modern database system. We will be using **Ubuntu as our operating system in this example**. ## Step 1: installation You can find the free open source edition ‘Community Server’ as well as the commercial enterprise solution available on the download center of the official [MongoDB website](https://www.mongodb.com/download-center?jmp=nav#community "Download MongoDB for Windows, Linux, and co. here"). The first step is to **find the right installation file** (binary) for your system and to **download it**. Since MongoDB is available across a selection of platforms, there are a number of different variants for Windows and Linux as well as for OS X and Solaris. If you’re using a Windows operating system, the database is simply installed into your folder of choice with help from the downloaded file. Windows 10 users can use the Windows Server 2008 (64-bit) version. Users of Linux and co. will have to download an archive file, unzip it and then install it with the help of the package manager. Depending on your distribution, you may first need to import the **MongoDB Public GPG Key**. For Ubuntu, this authentication key is required, which means you have to implement the following command: ```none sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv EA312927 ``` Then you should update the list of the package manager: ```none sudo apt-get update ``` … and install MongoDB with useful management tools included: ```none sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org ``` ## Step 2: starting the MongoDB server You have the option to change the standard installation folder */var/lib/mongodb* and the log folder */var/log/mongodb* in the **configuration file** */etc/mongod.conf*. The following command will start the database: ```none sudo service mongod start ``` If you use the parameter *stop* instead of the *start* command, the database will be shut down; the *restart* command can be used to reboot the database. To test to see whether MongoDB was successfully started, just look up the log file */log/mongodb/mongod.log*: The line ```none [initandlisten] waiting for connections on port ``` tells you that the database server is running and waiting for incoming connections to the port defined by the configuration file (<port>). The default is port 27017. ## Step 3: starting the client Once the MongoDB server is running, you can start the respective client. We’re using the included command line client Mongo Shell, which is **based on JavaScript** and may be used for **administration** of the database as well as **accessing and updating the data**. You can start the client with a simple terminal command on the same system that the MongoDB application is running: ```none mongo ``` The Mongo Shell will automatically connect to the MongoDB server that’s already running on the **local host and the port 27017**. You can of course always customize these default connection settings with the appropriate parameters as well. These parameters and other important options are listed in the following table:
Parameter **Function description**
*--shell* Activates the Shell Interface, where you can use the interactive mongo shell after executing a command
*--nodb* Disables the connection between the Mongo Shell and a database
*--port <port>* Defines the port for the connection
*--host <hostname>* Defines the host for a connection
*--help* or *-h* Shows you all possible options
--*username <username>* or *-u <username>* If access rights are defined, you can use this command to log in with your corresponding user name (*<username>*)
*--password <password>* or *-p <password>* If access rights are defined, you can use this command to enter your corresponding password (*<password>*)
The brackets included here are not part of the respective parameter and so shouldn’t appear in the final command. For example, when defining port 40000 instead of the standard port 27017 your entry should look like this: ```none mongo --port 40000 ``` --- ### Tip: Managed MongoDB from IONOS **Managed** [**MongoDB from IONOS**](https://cloud.ionos.ca/managed/dbaas/managed-mongodb?itc=2E5H5WQ0-HUKYUQ-LTP4SQO "Managed MongoDB from IONOS") enables you to concentrate on the essentials. From installation to operation and maintenance work, IONOS makes sure you always get the best performance from your data banks. --- ## Step 4: creating a database As soon as MongoDB and the client are running, you can dedicate your time to data management and editing. But first, you should create a database – otherwise your collections and documents will be saved to the automatically generated *test* database. You can generate a database through the ***use* command**. So if you want to create a database with the name *mydatabase*, for example, then the command will look like this: ```none use mydatabase ``` The command *use* also selects an existing MongoDB database that you want to call up **for data processing**; by using the short command *db* you can check which database is currently selected. ## Step 5: creating a collection Your next step is to create your first collection, a **binder for various BSON documents** in which you will store the data later. The basic syntax follows this pattern: ```none db.createCollection(, { options } ) ``` The *createCollection* command contains two parameters: *name* (title of the collection) and *options* (optional options to configure in the collection). In the options, you can determine whether the collection should be limited in size (*capped: true*), and if so, to what number of bytes (*size: <number>*) or additionally to what number of documents (*max: <number>*), for example. A collection with the name *mycollection*, a byte limit of 6,142,800 and a maximum of 10,000 documents permitted could be created using the following command (the whitespace is simply for clarity): ```none db.createCollection ("mycollection", { capped: true, size: 6142800, max: 10000 } ) ``` ## Step 6: add documents to a collection After the binder has been created you can populate your collection with documents. There are three different means of doing this: - *.insertOne()* - *.insertMany()* - *.insert()* The commands above allow you to insert either one document (*.insertOne*), several documents at once (*.insertMany*), or simply to insert as many as you list (*.insert*). The following example shows a **simple database entry**, containing three pieces of information: name, age, and sex. This document will be stored in the *mycollection* binder that we created in step 5: ```none db.mycollection.insertOne( { Name: "Name", Age: 28, Sex: "female" } ) ``` MongoDB automatically generates a **unique ID** for this entry and every subsequent entry in this corresponding collection. ## Step 7: manage documents The final step of our MongoDB tutorial concerns the basic management of these created documents. Before you can make changes to a document, you have to **call it up** first. This action can be performed with the *find* command and can be expanded with the optional parameters *query filter* and *projection* (specification of the displayed result). So to call up the document from the previous step, we’d need the following command: ```none db.mycollection.find( { Name: "Name", Age: 28 } ) ``` If you want to update this document, you’ll need to perform the *update* function. Here, you have to define the value you wish to change, choose an **update operator**, and then enter the new value. So if you want to change the *age* field in our example, you need the operator *$set*: ```none db.mycollection.update( { Age: 28 }, { $set: { Age: 30 } } ) ``` The other *update* operators can be found [here](https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/reference/operator/update/ "MongoDB docs – update operators for database entries"). To delete a document from a collection, you’ll need to use the *remove* command: ```none db.mycollection.remove() ``` You can also remove individual documents from the collection by defining criteria like the ID or exact values, thus signalizing which database entries are in question to MongoDB. The more specific you are, the more exact the removal process by the database system can be. The command ```none db.mycollection.remove( { Age: 28 } ) ``` will remove all entries for the value *28* in the *Age* field. But you can also specify further, telling the database to only remove the first entry that meets this description. This involves using what’s known as a ***justOne* parameter** (1): ```none db.mycollection.remove( { Age: 28 }, 1 ) ``` Further information on user administration, security settings, creation of replicas, or the sharing of data across several systems can be found in the official documentation on the [mongodb.com website](https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/ "MongoDB manual – general information and help for the document-based database") as well as through the more detailed MongoDB tutorial on [tutorialspoint.com](http://www.tutorialspoint.com/mongodb/index.htm "tutorialspoint – beginner help and professional tips for MongoDB"). This is a markdown version of: [https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/mongodb-tutorial-first-steps/](https://www.ionos.ca/digitalguide/websites/web-development/mongodb-tutorial-first-steps/) for AI/LLM consumption.